


Don't Burn Your Bridges

by kimoi



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-13
Updated: 2012-07-23
Packaged: 2017-11-01 21:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/361505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimoi/pseuds/kimoi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just how tight can childhood friendships stay? College life, leftover feelings from years past - the kids are grown up, but their emotions aren't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bam-squared](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Bam-squared).



> my bff bam-squared came up with this idea, and i'm making it happen for her. ilu bam <3

And so here they all fucking were.  
  
The four of them, best friends from childhood, all at the same goddamn university. In a lot of ways, they were still children. But somehow they had all grown up, and were here. Pursuing dreams, living their lives, and figuring all their shit out.  
  
He wasn't really sure how it happened, but him and Jake had become rather iconic. Something about how 'blindingly attractive' they were. Dirk wasn't about to argue these points, but he did find the hero worship a little... unsettling. Especially with how a few of the girls had even gone so far as to make a... fanclub. Mostly unsettling because him and Jake had sort-of been a thing since they started going to the uni.  
  
The stalkers were the worst, though. Like a gaggle of fucking paparazzi following him and Jake wherever they went. Wanna duck out for a quick smoke with your beau? Nope. Quick kiss after psyche class? Not a fucking chance. He knew Jake loved the spotlight, and hammed it up as much as he could. His 'double pistols and a wink' were the choice graphic for the fanclub's t-shirts, afterall. The back of them had Dirk with his trademark dead-stare, brow seen to be raised behind his pointy shades. _Children._  
  
The two women of their flock of four were still Dirk and Jake's choice babes, however, remaining their number one fans through the entirety of the bullshit. Roxy still hadn't dropped her little alcohol habit, but at least it was more acceptable at this age. Which was barely 20, but everyone had stopped waggling their fingers at her long ago. She'd taken a serious interest in the how and why of things, and even though it was a dying art she had loaded herself up with philosophy and psyche classes. Jane was taking a lot of culinary classes as one might have expected her to, but she'd abstained from ruling her empire for the simple reason of wanting to be closer to her friends.   
  
He himself hadn't really decided on any one direction in particular, so he'd been more or less sampling the finer here and there's of college life. He was more a fixture than a student, and was really here mostly to support his pals. The exuberant English surprised no one when he found himself ass-deep in archaeology classes. Dirk didn't show it outright, but he was proud of all his goofy friends. And how much they had grown.  
  
It was disgruntling to think that he himself had failed to do so.  
  
Oh, sure; he'd filled out - obviously, else he wouldn't have that rag-tag group of ruffian schoolchildren following him around everywhere. But sometimes he really didn't feel 'grown up'. And when he looked at his friends, and saw how mature they were and how far they'd all come - he felt a little left out.   
  
But he was happy for everyone nonetheless, and it wasn't as if he wasn't in a state of contentment for himself, either. He had Jake, and he had two awesome girls that'd stuck with him through thick and thin. Dirk Strider was doing pretty okay.  
  
But lately, he was realizing that Jake didn't really seem to be quite the same as he used to be.  
  
The four of them sat at their normal spot in the corner cafe near campus, shooting the shit like they always did every Friday after classes. Roxy was busy sneaking a shot of something no doubt alcoholic into her coffee, Jane was poring over her cookbooks and adjusting her glasses in what everyone had come to learn was a frustrated manner. And Jake was... staring at his cup of coffee in a bit of a spaced-out way.  
  
"Geez Jake," Roxy piped up finally, taking the bait that no one else seemed courageous enough to nibble at. "Ya expectin' it to burst into flames or somethin'?" Startled and embarrassed, Jake laughed nervously.  
  
"O-oh, nono miss Lalonde." Everyone was always so tickled at how his adorable politeness from online conversations had so long ago still bled into his normal, every-day speech. "I guess I'm simply bushwhacked. Been catching up on a lot of the work I've been unfortunately slacking on!"   
  
"Are you having trouble understanding something, Jake? Maybe I can take a stab at helping you out with your studies!" And then Jane, always overexcited to lend anyone a hand that seemed to need it. Her trademark 'hoo hoo!' had not been lost to the times either, and when she giggled it was exactly that. Jake, too, laughed and shook his head.  
  
"Oh no, Jane. I'm perfectly fine. And I don't suppose unearthing things that time forgot would quite be your forté anyway. I do appreciate the offer, though!"  
  
"What's got you slacking, English?" Because Dirk hadn't changed a bit, either; still unreadable, still ironic, and still taking pride in the fact he could remain resolute in the face of anything. But it was almost as if no one had expected him to ever change - his sarcasm and blunt honesty were a comfort.  
  
"Oh, haha, just losing some sleep I guess!" Roxy erupted into drunken giggles. Which was weird because she wasn't even drunk yet.  
  
"Oooooo losin' sleep huh betcha I can give you five reasons why an' they all start with d-"  
  
"Roxy!" Jane nearly started giggling herself, but the look of mild shock was enough to stifle it. The blonde girl grinned widely, leaning over close to her, eyes narrowed.  
"Dick, Janey. I was going to say 'dick'." She leaned back again, sipping her coffee. "Don't interrupt people. It's rude." The ex-heiress, blushing furiously, dug her nose into her books again. Jake tugged at his collar, looking rather nervous. Also blushing like a new bride. Roxy caught Dirk's smile and shook her head, laughing quietly to herself.  
  
"You know, Rox. To assume makes an ass out of 'you' and 'me'."  
"You and _**I**_. My god, GRAMMAR, hello! I swear I'm surrounded by children." Everyone was giggling at that point, and the moment was soon forgotten. By everyone except Dirk, of course. Something was up with his boy, and he didn't quite enjoy not knowing what it was.  
  
They walked back together, Jake seeming off in his own little world. Rox and Jane went to the nearby boutique so Roxy could pick out a new pair of shoes, and Jane went along because Roxy dragged her.   
  
"So what's actually on your mind, Jake?" Dirk attempted casually, hands in his pockets. Jake shrugged, smiling faintly.  
"Nothing unusual, my dear compatriot. Classes really do have me bogged down quite a bit." Dirk knew he was lying, but didn't pry.  
"You'll figure your shit out, kid." He reached over to ruffle Jake's hair, pulling him in for a second to plant a kiss on top of his head. "Eyes on the prize. You don't want spring break to get here and be swamped." Jake laughed nervously, his arm around Dirk's waist for a moment administering a sidelong hug. Hands were back in his own pockets in short order.  
"I'll get through it, it's just a bit daunting!"   
  
They got to Jake's and they kissed, Dirk giving his boy's back a short pat before he departed back to his own place. Brought up Pesterchum on his shades.  
  
\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --  
TT: I think something's up with Jake.


	2. Chapter 2

TG: somethigns wrong w/jakey??  
TG: hwo  
TG: *how  
TG: what do u mean?  
TT: I don't know. He's not acting... normal, I guess.  
TG: >implyging that jake englush is nrormal ever  
TT: Quit that.  
TT: I'm concerned I guess.  
TG: ur concenerd that ur lvoer boy isnt being his normal righto chappy self  
TG: u heard him, classes r kickin his pluhs rump  
TT: You've barely been out of my sight for an hour, Rox.  
TT: Just what did you put into your coffee?  
TG: ehehe a girl never kissses adn tells, dirky  
TG: i ahd a midterm today and im eager to froget about how shitty i did  
TG: n e way  
TG: i wodlnt worry baout jake too much  
TG: ehs a good kid u know that  
TG: probs jsut too busy thinkin bout u  
TT: And swooning, right?  
TG: ope waut thats me  
TG: *wait  
TT: Right.  
TG: :3  
TG: u watn me to talk to him ro somethign  
TG: cos i totes can  
TT: I wouldn't be opposed to the idea.  
TT: So long as you can keep your drunk trap shut about who's asking and why.  
TG: ive logn since evolved dirk strider  
TG: ms zuppierlips itno  
TG: well im still that butw/e  
TG: u get the diea  
TT: I appreciate it, Rox.  
TG: im alwasy here for u dirk  
TG: drunk or no ur my best bro  
TG: hehe taht rhyumed  
TT: It sure did.  
TT: I'll leave you to it, then.  
TG: im on it like comet  
TG: ttyl ahdnsome <3  
TT: Later.  
\-- timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] --  
  
He felt a little better after his talk with Roxy. The drunken princess had a way of making him calm his tits down about a lot of things. Even if most of the time she was taking care of his sorry ass. Seemed pretty backwards. But it was whatever. He let himself into his cheap-ass apartment and dropped his bag to the floor, immediately wandering to the couch and slumping onto it.  
  
\--------  
  
Pocketing her phone, Roxy bade farewell to Jane and headed to her own small apartment. She could have afforded something better but she was content with the simplicity; also a smaller living area to have to clean. Pulling her laptop out of her bag she sat in the computer chair at her desk, spinning around before setting the machine on top of it. Arrite. Time to get her meddle on.  
  
\-- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering golgothasTerror [TG] --  
TG: jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake  
\-- golgothasTerror [GT] is an idle chum! --  
TG: fcuk thati knwo ur there  
TG: jaaake  
TG: jake  
TG: jaek  
TG: jaaaaaaAAAAAAAAKE  
TG: *CAPS FOR EMPAHIS  
GT: Oops, sorry rolal! Was knee-deep in study material for a bit, there!  
GT: What can i assist you with, my inebriated pal?  
TG: juts checking up on yuo  
TG: u were kidna spacey @ coffeeplace  
TG: whats up???  
GT: Oh, heh, yeah! I was thinking about all this homework i have. Its got me in a bit of a bind. Id like to spend more time with all my fine friends but its a little hard with this workload!  
TG: ull manaeg  
TG: or u can just chamr all teh teachrs w/ur  
TG: charm i guess  
GT: I do seem to have an abundance of it, these days! *Tugs at collar.*  
TG: ehe u ahvnt changed a bit and its cute  
TG: r u sure thats all taths on ur mind tho  
TG: cos if u need an ear ur odl pal roxy is totes here to ilsten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
TG: opps 1 key gto stuck  
TG: thikn i spileled something in it teh other day  
GT: Much appreciated, miss lalonde! Ill be sure to come to you if i need anyone to listen to me blather on.  
TG: good  
TG: imma go tho ive got hw shti to do ymself  
TG: ttys jakey <3  
\-- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] has ceased pestering golgothasTerror [TG] --  
  
Well. That had certainly left a lot of questions unanswered. Though she didn't like thinking that Jake was lying to her or Dirk, so she decided that he wasn't - her two boys had enough going on that they didn't need her wild theories getting in the way of anything.  
  
Speaking of theories, she did have quite a lot of homework to do. A sigh was heaved, and she stood to gather her books - taking them into the kitchen to mix herself something fancy and get on that.  
  
...but ten minutes of reading about the human mind had her daydreaming, and she was thinking about Dirk. This always happened. She really couldn't stop. She knew she shouldn't have been, but the thoughts about him had plagued her since... god, forever. It was really, really hard for the blonde to think of her feelings as pale for one Dirk Strider. A particularly bad year followed her decision to try and think of him that way, and after the eleventh month of depression she realized she couldn't just stash her feels in the back of her mind. So she let herself have them, but she never said anything about them. The drinking, as always, helped.  
  
Ugh. Back to reading.  
  
\--------  
  
Closing the pester with Roxy left Jake sighing, pulling out his books and a paper he was half-assing his way through. It was so middleschool; some dumb lengthy diatribe about Pompeii and what had happened, and what the ash had done to preserve everything. It wasn't boring, but Jake had learned about this years ago, and he nearly felt insulted having to write a report on it. A few more pages and he'd be done, unless he got distracted.  
  
\-- gutsyGumshoe [GG] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] --  
  
Welp.  
  
GT: Heya Jane!  
GG: Jake! :B How's my favourite little explorer holding up? You had us all quite twitterpated at the coffee house today!  
GT: Oh, my appologies, miss crocker! I didnt intend to worry anyone with my spacey-outtie-ness!  
GG: Hoo hoo! Not worried, my dear boy. I know you've got everything perfectly under control!  
GT: Ah, how right you are, madam.  
GT: Under control is just how i have everything.  
GG: How're things with Dirk? I know I see you every day, but a gal's gotta keep up to date on this stuff!  
GT: Taking a page out of lalondes personal gameplan, are we?  
GG: Oh hush! I don't like getting all my information from second-hand gossip, you know!  
GG: Although I find myself wondering if I can't nab one of those swanky fanclub t-shirts all those lovesick ladies are wearing about.  
GT: *Dabs at brow.* Oh, so youve seen those. At least they captured my good side, right? *Double pistols and a wink.*  
GG: I find it hard to believe you have a side that's anything but good, Jake! Hoo hoo! :B  
  
He felt himself blushing. Fiddlesticks, this always happened. Jane would say something totally simple and platonic and Jake would be finding any excuse he had to make it mean more than it actually did.  But was that the case? He had long since assumed his feeling for Jane went a bit beyond what could be socially acceptable as 'one of my best gals'. But it was silly to imagine that she thought the same way! And what would it do to poor Strider? Admittedly Jake hadn't ever really... felt the same way that he knew Dirk did, and he was mostly just along for the ride. That didn't mean he wasn't one of Jake's best friends, and not that he didn't care for him deeply, but the young adventurer had more often than not just... humored him. Figuring that one way or another Dirk would have connived him into being 'an item', he decided to forsake the awkward task of forcing the blonde to woo him, and just went along with it.  It hadn't been the most honest thing he'd ever done, but Jake was by no means unhappy - and if he could help a chum out with a romantic endeavor why not, right?  
  
GT: Youve sure got that right! I may be three-dimensional, but im very one-sidedly good.  
GG: A flat plane of charm! And you're not bad to look at, either. ;B  
  
Heh, heh. This was getting a little awkward, and the kid did find himself tugging at his collar a bit. That Crocker girl sure had a way of messing with him in the worst (best?) way. And as much as he hated keeping things from Roxy, he knew she had a penchant to... meddle. Jake loved her tons, but she was also pretty tight with Dirk. It was best to keep his trap shut on the whole matter whenever Rolal was concerned.  
  
\--------  
  
GG: Well, I'll let you go now, J! I've got homework to do! :B  
GT: They give you homework in cooking classes?  
GG: Of course, silly! But it's not quite the same as you. It's mostly grocery lists for recipes and how to make dishes less fattening! Boring stuff, really. But someone's gotta figure this out! Hoo hoo!  
GT: Well i hope you have fun with that. Im going to finish this paper and then probably take a nap, haha!  
GG: I'll talk to you soon, Jake. Bye bye!!  
\-- gutsyGumshoe [GG] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT] --  
  
Jane sat back in her chair, staring blankly at the far wall as her tiaratop glowed faintly on her forehead. The girl had long since evolved past being swayed by Crocker Corp's ways, and the tiara was just so gosh-danged useful! She fully planned on bothering Rolal while she made a cake for her favourite prof's birthday. She could work on boring stuff like homework later. This seemed much more fun!  
  
Humming to herself she stood, wandering to the kitchen of her flat and gathering ingredients for the aforementioned cake. Spread fully assembled, she began the procedure. Her thoughts wandered to Jake and how he was doing, and then waded into the waters of her own small predicament.  
  
"You're not in love with that silly boy, Janey old girl! You've quashed those feelings rather well." She always tried to assure herself of this, but lately she was beginning to have her doubts. He was just so gosh-darned charming! And the way he looked at her sometimes, with that doofy smile... She sighed to herself, shaking her head. She'd had a thing for him for the longest time. Years. A good handful of them, in fact! But she just couldn't bring herself to say anything.  
  
"I can't mess things up for those boys. They're so happy." Well, at least Dirk seemed that way! She knew that, at least a while ago, Jake had mentioned that he was going to go for it just because it seemed inevitable. She wasn't one to question his motives - and her stupid self had even encouraged them. Stupid, stupid thing she had done. She could have been much more... well, fuck! She could have been forward with him, right then and there, and prevented this whole snafu from happening like it had. But she was a good girl, a good girl that was not going to meddle in personal affairs. To think, if she managed to mess something up for everyone --!  
  
"You're a ridiculous girl, Jane Crocker! Just make your dumb cake and move on."

  
But she knew in her heart that she couldn't.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day was uneventful; Dirk and Jake spending some miracuously acquired quiet-time in the café. Something with a few shots of espresso for English, and a mocha for himself. They chatted easily, and Dirk let himself drop the notion that something was actually wrong. Rox's report had come back with nothing noteworthy to speak of, and Dirk trusted her meddling skills. She was a helpful broad.  
  
"Get that paper done?" he asked casually, eyes studying the patrons of the coffee house with an interested eye. People-watching was a good hobby.  
  
"BS-d my way through most of it," Jake replied with a tired smile. "Only so much you can say about a city buried in ashes. I had to small-talk my way with about 2 pages. Not quite an easy task." Strider smirked a bit, patting the kid's thigh before letting his hand rest atop it chastely. Jake, annihilating half his drink in a single swallow, rest his hand atop Dirk's.  
  
"That's my boy." He had every faith that Jake knew what he was doing, but sometimes he pushed himself too far. "Take it easy though, English. We don't need a repeat performance of the first semester." Oh, that had been _fun_. Jake had taken on a few too many courses, and very quickly found himself overwhelmed. It led to a bit of a breakdown, and Dirk finding him passed out in his apartment after an anxiety attack wasn't something he wanted to experience again. Jake laughed, cheeks darkening in embarassment.  
  
"Heavens no. Lesson learned. That damn paper was just frustrating me. With it's conclusion the rest of this semester should be relatively simple!"  
  
Dirk leaned over and kissed him, adding to his blush. Jake was not much of an exhibitionist, but Dirk couldn't seem to care less. To protect his blushing bride, he moved his hand to rest on the opposite arm of the chair jake was sitting on, and shielded him from view. Laughing, Jake playfully swatted at him.   
  
"Mister Strider, you're making me blush!"  
"That's the plan." Dirk sat back though, finishing off his drink and standing. Jake followed. "So does that mean you're free later, English?" A wry, slightly devious smirk crossed Strider's face, making Jake laugh again nervously.  
  
"Hah, well..."  
"C'mon, bro. You've been busy all week. I'm growing unaccustomed to human contact. Help me out here." Of course, by 'human contact' he meant _that_ sort-of contact, and he knew Jake caught his drift. Dirk was never pushy, but he had a way about him that just made people bend to his will. And Jake doing any sort0of bending to any sort-of anything Dirk had was -  
  
"Oh, you've got me on the ropes, Dirk! Yes yes, let's meet the gals for a bit and later I'll take you home, eh?" Classic Jake wink, and Dirk rest his hand on his back for a quick moment with a smile before the affection rose higher, fingers sifting through his hair a bit.  
  
"Cool. I'll go give Rox a call. Find out where her goofy ass is. Get ahold of Janey, will you?"  
  
Jake nodded and Dirk pulled out his phone, dialing the fab miss Roxy Lalonde and stepping to the back door of the coffee house for a quick smoke. The phone rang, and rang, and rang.  
  
"Hello?" a groggy voice mumbled. Dirk snickered, taking a drag from his cig.  
"Morning princess," he crooned at her. He heard her groan.   
"What d'you want?" she croaked, and he heard Jane's voice in the background - talking on her phone.  
"Princess have a rough night?" This hadn't been the first time he'd woken her up hungover.  
"Fuckoff, Dirk. What is it?"  
"We're inviting you fine ladies out with us to chill for a bit. So get your ass out of bed, Jane's panties off your floor, and get the fuck to the coffee house."  
"I'd hit you if I weren't afraid I'd puke on you instead. ...wait, I think I'll actually do that." But he heard her getting up, and knew Jane was just over there trying to take care of the pink-eyed lady. Someone had to.  
"Ah, you wouldn't dare. You know if you ruined my Chucks I'd send you on a long walk off a short pier."  
"God you're so fucking charming, Dirk. Remind me again why I'm not in a never-ending quest to jump your bones."  
"Oh, you've given up on that?"  
"I'll see you at the coffee shop, Strider." - And she hung up. Chuckling to himself, having finished most of his cigarette, flicked it off to the side, and headed back in.  
  
\-------  
  
Roxy slugged herself up and out of bed, groaning a little and rubbing her temples. Janey had gotten here about an hour ago to help her with some project that she knew she wasn't going to do. So instead the baking mommy had busied herself cleaning Roxy's apartment while she nursed her hangover. Which was actually going away pretty quickly, once she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Popped a couple excedrin for good measure, and found Jane in the kitchen.  
  
"Jaaaneyyyyy," she murmured in a ghostly moan, draping herself across the other girl's back. "Carry me to the coffee house." Pause. "That is what Jake was talking to you about, right? Fuck I'd hate to have been invited and leave you here." Jane patted her arm assuringly.  
  
"No no my dear, I was invited! The young mister English extended the offer of coffee and chit-chat to me. I'm sure Dirk did the same for you?"  
"I told him I'd puke on him," Roxy replied cheerfully, popping some bread in the toaster and fishing around for some jam. Jane sighed, shaking her head - but she didn't say anything. "Yeah, he invited the both of us. Just to chill I spose. Which is totes cool 'cos I could use a cup of coffee, shit."  
  
The girls were ready in about 20 minutes, and were out the door on their way to the coffee house. Jake waved them over enthusiastically, Dirk leaning back against the long couch the two of them sat on. He nodded in greeting, while Jake stood to embrace them both.  Sometimes Rox liked to think that he was so chummy with them because he'd spent so long on that island by himself.   
  
"Ladies," he greeted with a chuckle, Roxy and Jane both rolling their eyes. They sat, the walk-around barista coming up to them and taking their orders. Acting disappointed when they wouldn't bring her an Irish coffee, Rox settled for a chai latte, and Jane something cold and blended.   
  
"How you two girls holdin' up?" Roxy giggled, leaning against Jake momentarily before settling back in the couch. "Callin' in the calvalry so soon? Janey and I were pree busy, y'know." A serious nod followed.  
  
"Right, pretty busy being knee-deep in taking care of your drunken ass. It's like three in the afternoon, Rox. You were _still asleep_." Dirk had leaned forward to raise an eyebrow at her, smirking again.  
"I TOLD you about my midterm, huh. An' Janey was there to help me with my project I'm prolly not gonna do anyway."  
"What kinda project? And why are you not going to do it?" Roxy shrugged.   
  
"Don't feel like it? Super boring anyway." Drinks delivered, she took a sip from hers. "'sides. I won't fail. So no worrying about me, Dirky." A waggled finger accompanied her words, and she sat back again. No sense in mentioning she hadn't felt like doing any of her homework. It was super unimportant and like she said, she wouldn't fail. She'd barely pass, but... she wouldn't fail.  
  
"Oh Ro, don't say that! You'll get it done. I'll help you out, dear!" Good ol' Janey. Always willing to lend her a hand. Roxy didn't have the heart to tell her she just didn't have it in her to do much academically lately.  
  
"You've got our help, Lalonde ol' gal! We'll get you through this blunderous project." Aw, shit. Now she had Jake's help, too. She might give it a try. Depending on how far Jane got with the start of it. Bluh.  
  
An hour passed, the kids chatting about nothing in particular. There was a new club nearby they all wanted to check out, and Roxy jokingly suggested getting a few fake IDs. Her suggestion was knocked out of the air as quick as it left her, only to be replaced with the better one of pre-gaming at her place before they even left. To her continued chagrin, none of them seemed quite as on board with the plan as she was. Only sometimes did she feel a little embarrassed by her immense satisfaction with being liquored up.  
  
Fairly soon, the group of them had stood and were saying their goodbyes. Roxy and Jane left the two boys to whatever it is they were going to do - '...you see, Jane, when two guys love each other very much - hey, ow! Don't punch me!' - to start working on her project. She still wasn't sure that she'd actually do it, but maybe a little help from her pal Captain Morgan would jumpstart her creativity.


	4. Chapter 4

He knew the instant the girls left that Dirk would get this way. Not that he minded it! There was definitely something about him that Jake liked, and that something was evidently something enough to let him do the things he did. O-oh no! Not that he didn't like them! Jake just sort-of knew all along that if he hadn't responded so... positively to Dirk's advances the fellow would have kept pursuing anyway, and it would have just become a tiresome exercize in how long could he ignore Dirk before he inevitably caved in! That's what had really done it. The inevitability. He never saw it as a bad thing either, really... they were both happy, so that was good right?   
  
So when they got to his flat and Dirk shut the door behind them, looking at him over his shades, Jake knew exactly what to expect. The blonde came up to him and spread his hand over the small of Jake's back, and he really actually enjoyed that part very much. He smiled when Dirk kissed him, his hands moving along practiced, memorized paths up to the sides of his face, thumbing the edges of his shades. Dirk's other hand swept to cup one of Jake's cheeks, thumb brushing over it as the hand on his back pressed them closer together. Dirk Strider was a good kisser, Jake had decided a while ago - not like the young adventurer had much experience with it, but the way the blonde managed to usually sweep him off his feet with the gesture was testament to this enough! He was good with his hands, too. They moved around so much Jake barely registered that they were sitting on the couch now, and that his hands were up his trademark green skull shirt.  
  
The kiss was paused momentarily, Dirk's mouth moving north to take the bridge of Jake's glasses delicately between his teeth, pulling the specs off to discard them off to the side. Apparently so he could kiss between his eyes, the action causing Jake to smile in a rather goofy manner. He always did enjoy that sort-of thing, being kissed around his eyes. The... finesse and just the gosh-darned air of knowing exactly what he was doing always managed to catch the young English off guard, so often that he was usually overwhelmed by the experience of being with him. It was moments like those that Jake almost felt like he really -did- love Dirk, in the way that the blonde wanted to be loved by him. Strider used the leverage he had to gently push Jake back against the arm of the couch, hands creeping up the boy's ribcage as he resumed kissing him. It'd only been a few days, but Jake had found himself sorely missing it. Dirk had worked his way between the dark-haired boy's legs, leaning over him now and grinning in a bit of a devious way.   
  
"Jake..." the blonde teased in a bit of a sing-song voice. Though, for Dirk, sing-song was barely a shade above 'dead-pan'. But Jake could hear it, in the voice he'd become accustomed to hearing, the voice he very much enjoyed listening to when it spoke with him on the phone for hours at a time, the voice that sometimes he'd hear behind him as the pair of them lay in bed on a particularly quiet morning, the voice that even if he wasn't in love with the person who owned it, he felt a rather strong fondness for regardless.   
  
"Dirk?" Jake came back with, smirking up at the looming figure. The blonde's smile widened, and he leaned down again, kissing his neck. Jake's hands crept down his own torso, reaching for the edge of his shorts. Dirk pulled back and stilled his hands with one of his own, tsking. He brushed his fingers over his own collarbone, over his shirt.  
  
"Hands here. Don't move them." It was more a suggestion than a command, but Jake would still follow it. Jake's hands moved, fingertips curling against Dirk's shirt, nudging the face in front of his for another kiss. Cautiously he deepened it, never really feeling quite adequate at the whole 'passionate makeout' thing. But Dirk never corrected him, and he was perfectly satisfied letting the blonde take over for him.  
  
Much like he was doing now; unbuttoning his pants and slowly sliding the zipper down before those same hands ran up his sides under his shirt. Jake wondered if he should attempt to pull his shirt off for these shenanigans, but his thoughts on that quickly stilled as he felt Strider's fingertips graze his hipbones as he tugged his shorts and boxers off.   
  
"Dirk," Jake whispered, that grin fading slightly. He didn't really consider himself someone that 'played for the other team', per se, but sometimes when Strider got this way... He found himself reacting in a way he never thought he would. It always took him by surprise. The blonde didn't respond, his mouth trailing down from his neck, gently kissing his chest through his shirt while his hands worked their way towards his inner thighs. He kept his hands on Dirk's lean torso as instructed, fingers curling into his collarbone. Jake kinda liked it when he gave him orders. As mentioned, he wasn't too experienced in this area. It was nice to have an itinerary to follow.  
  
\------  
  
"Oh, c'mon Rolal!" Jane chirped, trying to rouse a lazy Roxy. The blonde was laying on her couch, fucking around on her phone.   
"Whaaaaaat, Jane?" she groaned. Rox knew exactly what Jane was bothering her about, but she refused to acknowledge it. She knew that she was going to bug her about her project. And Roxy just... didn't want to do it. She didn't feel like it. She had far too much on her mind to focus on anything scholarly. Which is how she'd felt for quite some time now. Probably since the beginning of last semester. She didn't want to admit it was because of her stupid girly feelings, but it was. Surprise.  
  
"Don't 'what' me, young lady!" Jane snapped, snatching the phone from Rox.  
"Hey! Janey don't do thaaaat give it back!" She was up on her feet, trying to grab her phone back. She wasn't thinking of texting Dirk at all, nope.  
"You were going to text Dirk, missy, and you know he is otherwise... preoccupied!" The way she said it made Roxy stop fighting for her phone, and hang her head a little. It was no secret what was going on, what the two boys had left for - but sometimes Roxy liked to pretend she could handle it, forget about it. Jane's guard dropped a little at her expression, and Roxy stormed past her, grabbing the phone roughly and stalking into her room. She was not surprised that her 'bee-eff-effsie' followed.  
  
Roxy stood in front of her window, arms folded across her chest defensively, foot tapping in an anxious manner. It always did that when she was nervous. or Anxious. Or upset. She did it a lot.   
  
"Oh, Lal-pal," Jane murmured gently, stepping up behind the blonde. "I didn't mean to upset you." Roxy felt Jane's hand on her arm and wanted so badly to shake it off. But she knew Jane hadn't said it to purposely upset her. Sometimes Roxy wondered if Jane even really understood why it upset her. Rox was otherwise extremely steadfast in the face of the affection the duo shared with one another; she'd even steeled herself against the playful kisses and ass-grabs Dirk would give to the dark-haired boy every now and again. She wondered if Jane thought she was a homophobe or something. Which was hilariously and almost offensively off the mark, but the way Rox acted whenever the girls knew there was something a little more 'friendly' going on would... ...yeah, she could see how that could be misconstrued as homophobia. Had Roxy ever actually told Jane how she felt about Dirk? It seemed like something that was as obvious as the fucking sun in the sky by now. Or maybe she had, long ago, and Jane had just figured she'd 'gotten over' it.  
  
But that was laughably naïve, and Roxy would almost say Jane knew better than that. Like Roxy knew better than to think the baking mama had gotten over her obsession with Jake. Even if she didn't talk about it anymore, Rox knew the girl was head over heels. She even dared to wonder if Jane ever felt like she did about things; emotionally drained constantly, fighting to keep an interest in anything that wasn't her incessant thoughts about something that was never going to happen.  
  
"You didn't," the blonde replied, her tone a bit defeated. "It's nothing, Janey-poo. Don't worry about it." Needless to say she still didn't want to work on her project, but it might have been best to give it a try for now. Motions automatic, she turned around and smiled at her bff, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and kissing her cheek chastely. Janey giggled nervously and patted her back, returning her hug.   
  
"If you're good, RoLal, I'll even let you have some rum-raisin ice cream."  
"My god, Janey, be _more_ of a little old lady, please." Roxy rolled her eyes but smiled wearily, letting Jane lead her back into the living room. "I swear if you try to offer me some hard toffee candies I'm going to suplex you." The brunette giggled, letting go of Ro's arm to hunch over and pretend she was using a cane.

 

"Now now, you young whipper-snapper!" Jane faked an elderly tone, but the fact she used this lingo for real-real and not for play-play was what made it even more funny. "I won't have you back-sassing me like that! Now be a dear and fetch me my eyes from the top of the radiator, I've gotta watch my stories before six!" Roxy playfully punched her arm and Jane straightened, laughing.  
  
"Okay okay, I'll work on my damn project. But you're takin' a shot with me whether you like it or not." Roxy would work on her project, and maybe she'd be able to forget about what was going on between Dirk and Jake.  
  
Unlikely. But she'd try.


	5. Chapter 5

Roxy seemed to be doing better the next day, Jane noted, and even though she hadn't particularly enjoyed the shot of gin she'd made her take, she welcomed the burn with a difficult smile, and laid out the groundwork for the project at hand. It was mostly Greek to Crocker, but she had a vague idea of what needed to be done - gradeschool stuff, really, in it's simplicity - but since Rox seemed to be having such a hard time with it, she was more than willing to help the blonde out.  
  
"Now I'm guessing these little emotion dealies are being tacked onto this huge picture of this brain?" she asked puzzledly, scattering the slips of paper and flipping over the ones that landed face-down.   
"Yeah. I think these are s'posed to be used in younger kid classrooms which is why this project is so ridic." Roxy was on her stomach, arms folded in front of her, with her feet in the air behind her. They both had the day off.  
  
The day went by rather slow, and Jane noticed that Roxy was quiet for most of it. Rather distracted it seemed, also - more than once she had to remind the blonde to stay on track or her project would never be finished. It was a little disheartening to see Roxy so disinterested in her schoolwork, but everyone had their off days. Jane just hoped that's all it was.   
  
"Rox...?" She tried after a few-minute silence from her friend. The blonde was staring at the bits of paper, more or less just shuffling them around aimlessly. Jane tried again. "Roxy...? Earth to Rolal, dearie!" It took the blonde a minute, but she was looking up at her soon enough.  
  
"Sorry Jane, I spaced again didn't I."  
"You're darn right you did! As much as I love you I'm not going to do your whole project!" That was a lie. She might do the whole project. Something about Rox just seemed -  
"OFF." - Well, if that wasn't succinct -! "Dammit, Frigglish, get the fuck off my project." The lumbering he-beast of a cat let out a pitiful meow of protest before waddling into the kitchen. "Janey stop feeding Friggly the Second so many treats. He's a fucking whalebeast." Jane giggled.  
  
"I really can't help it, he just gives me those gosh-darned doe eyes and I melt."   
"Yeah, into a puddle of cake batter that he eats in like three seconds!!" Roxy sat up, rolling her eyes but laughing. "Serious though, I gotta put him on a diet. All he does is sit around and eat." She paused, looking down at the pieces of paper. "Can we take a break, Janey? I really don't feel like doing this right now."  
  
The brunette worried her bottom lip a bit, but nodded. A break couldn't hurt. They had been at it for a while.  
  
"How'sabout we pack up and take this to the coffee shop, mm? Bit less cooped up than this place is, hoo hoo!" That, and Roxy could get some coffee into her and maybe get a bit of a boost! More drive to work on her project would be wonderful.  
  
\------  
  
When they got to the coffeeshop Roxy was feeling a little better. She even found it in herself to joke about the boys. It was fun, hanging out with Jane. She'd always enjoyed her company and the cute quips she'd throw around from time to time. It was also fun to hang out without her project looming over her like some dark, depressing thing.  
  
"I don't even know, Janey," she found herself saying with a laugh, shaking her head. "That prof really doesn't seem to even know how to tie his own damn shoes. Did you see him wearing those velcro ones the other day? Hellooooooo this is the 90s calling, we want our shitty style and Capri Sun back."  
"Capri Sun was always so good! Don't sass it like that."  
"Pacific Cooler for life. Sunny D can suck it." They both agreed on that, and sat for a few minutes in silence, drinking their coffee. After a while Roxy spoke up again.  
"I'm sorry about before, Janey. I didn't mean to turn into Crabby McBitchtits when you took my phone."  
"Oh, dearie! It's so okay. I understand that... it was a touchy subject. I shouldn't have taken it to begin with!" Roxy shrugged absently.  
"No, I was a bitch. No need to try and cover that up. I just..." - And here, she sat back, sipping her drink with a difficult look. And then she gave a helpless laugh. "I'm just hopeless. El oh el." Jane was quiet for a few moments.  
"I know you still have feelings for Dirk. It's okay, bee eff effsie." As true as the words were Roxy still felt herself blushing. It was stupid, really. There was no reason she should still have feelings like that after so long. After knowing for so long that they were really, really pointless.  
"You don't think I'm stupid for it or anything, do you?"  
"Oh honeypie, of course I don't. I can't say I blame you, anyway. I mean, you've liked him for a long time, haven't you?"  
"Since we were 13, girly-girl."  
"Yeah. That's seven years that you've had to put up with this. Hoo, I don't think I could do it if I were you."  
  
Now that was an interesting statement. So interesting, Roxy sat up again, facing her.  
  
"I am so calling bullshit on you."  
"What??" Jane was blushing, now. "How can you call bull-hooey on that? There's no bull to hooey, gosh darnit!" A smile crept onto the blonde's face.  
"I will call whatever I want hooey, Ms. Crocker. I totes know for realsies that you've still got a thing for Captain Adventure." Jane took a drink of her coffee indignantly, the closest thing Roxy had ever seen to a ' :T ' look on her face. "It's okay, Janey. If I'm allowed to get my pink panties in a twist over Master of Ironies Dirk Strider, you're sooooo allowed to get your fuckin'.... I don't even know. Bloomers in a bunch over Master of Dorkiness Jake English."  
"Bloomers? Ro-Lal I will not have my smallclothes brought into the equation here."  
"You're wearing a thong anyway."  
"I-I am not!"  
"So are."  
Jane huffed.  
"You stepped on the back of your skirt when you were ordering coffee." Roxy grinned, giggling. "It's blue. Number of people surprised: zero."  
"You are impossible! You're lucky you're my best pal." Pause. "...but you're right. I do still sort-of maybe have a tiny thing for Jake still. Maybe. A little." Roxy leaned over, giving her a one-armed hug.  
"Still totes okay Jane. I can sympathize. I guess we're both in the same boat here, aren't we?" It was a very depressing boat. it was small and cramped and probably smelled bad. Roxy was the captain. And as usual, Jane was her first mate.  
  
"I guess we are." Jane sighed heavily and it was such an uncharacteristic thing for her to do that it made Roxy frown.  
  
"Aw fuck Janey, don't sound like that. You're gonna upset me, too." It was a bit late for that, but she really couldn't deal with her own shit AND her bff's, too. As much as she wanted to help with it, it was just too much after last night. To her relief, Jane smiled and nodded.  
  
"You're right, Ro-Lal! I can't let this get me down. It's silly to! And I'll have my guts for garters before I let some unrequited bull-hooey ruin a good day with my best pal!" Roxy knew Jane was just shoving it out of the way to look like nothing was wrong, but she definitely couldn't blame her - unless the next words out of her mouth were going to be 'said the crow to the raven', she had no business saying anything at all.  
  
\------  
  
"Adequate?!" Jake had countered rather heatedly. But he was smiling. Of course he was smiling. He seldom questioned Dirk in a serious way. The blonde smiled too, shaking his head and collecting the remnants of egg yolk with his piece of toast. He'd stayed the night, and lost the rock-paper-scissors best-two-out-of-three on who would make breakfast. They hadn't really needed it, but when the topic of wearing aprons had come up, the practice seemed unignorable. He honestly hadn't minded it - hell, Dirk _liked_ doing stupid shit like this for Jake. He took a special, private delight in the embarrassed look the buck-toothed adventurer had gotten when Dirk got a little fancy with the cooking itself, taking a few extra steps to deliver a flourish here or there.  
  
"Yeah, English, I said adequate. You performed adequately. It doesn't mean 'bad' so chill the fuck out." Finishing his breakfast and standing to clear his own plate, he strolled to the sink and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Rox had apparently been trying to get ahold of him. Might be important. He waved his phone in Jake's direction to make sure the kid knew he was taking a call, and stepped out the back door to the driveway of the complex. It rang nearly six times before the girl picked up.  
  
"Uh. Hi Dirk."  
"Lalonde," he greeted coolly. "What's up? You were trying to get ahold of me last night."  
"Oh. Well." Her tone had shifted almost imperceptibly, but Dirk knew her enough to figure she was anxious about something.  
"Spit it out, dollface, I've got shit to do."  
"Fuck _off_ , Dirk Strider. I was just um... calling to... ....see if you were busy later! Hit up that club and all, right? Wasn't that going to be a thing?"  
"That was your idea, Rox. And I dunno who's all up for it."  
"Only the coolest fucking kids in town. Even if it just ends up being you and I. Ditch the squares, case the joint for future shenanigans. You game?" Dirk glanced over his shoulder into the apartment, watching Jake dump his dishes into the sink before he headed into the living room, presumeably to gather some of his shit before they headed out to the coffee shop.  
"Sure. Why the fuck not. You gonna get us some fake IDs or something?"  
"I figure you can nab your bro's and I can get my mom's. I get booze with it all the time. We'll be Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider for the night. And who knows. Maybe seeing the name 'Dave Strider' on your ID will get us free drinks or some shit. Worse comes to worst we can take our party to my place and finish off these bottles of old flavoured vodkie I've got. I need a restock and I don't like half-full bottles of shit layin' around."  
"Yeah, alright. What time we meeting up then?" He debated on even telling Jake. He'd probably give some bullshit about underage drinking and how Dirk shouldn't get mixed in with Roxy's dirty habits. But fuck it, he wanted to. He didn't drink often, but when he did he usually enjoyed himself. "You're not bringing Jane, are you?"  
"That stick in the mud? Last thing I need is her cupcake-ass tellin' me what to do. She'd be on my case for weeks if I used my mom's ID to get anything more than what I do." She paused, thinking. Or taking a drag of her own cigarette. She didn't tell anyone, but Dirk knew she smoked. One of these days he'd have one with her. "Dunno. Not too early. Tenish? That work for you, Mister Strider? I know you've got a busy schedule."  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll pencil you in, Princess. We still meetin' up at the coffee place though, yeah?"  
"Once you get off your skank ass and get here, we are." He smirked at that.  
"Roger that. ETA 25 minutes."  
"You're a nerd, Dirk. I'll see you soon."  
  
\------  
  
Following alongside Dirk, Jake waved shyly to the ladies as they got to the coffee shop. He was always a little self-conscious after things of the devious nature happened between him and Dirk - and he always felt like everyone knew about it. Even though rational thought told him the only way they knew was because he acted like a child about it.

  
"Ladies," he greeting with a wink. Jane and Roxy both laughed, and Dirk delivered their drinks to them. "How're you two fine girls doing today?"  
"Takin' a break from project bullshit. An' how're you, Jakey-poo?" Jake laughed, taking a familiar seat next to them, between Roxy and Dirk.  
"I too am taking a break from project dumbfuckery! But mine's all finished, I guess that's the only difference!" Homework completed, he was able to really relax and enjoy the company of his friends, free of the looming presence of anything school-related.  
"Up to anything interesting this evening?" Jane asked passively. Jake knew Dirk had plans, but he wasn't sure if Jane did. Maybe he could spend some time with her. He'd been neglecting her rather unintentionally these days. It'd be a good time to catch up.  
"My night's pretty clear!" She winced a bit, and Jake could only assume it was because Roxy had elbowed her. "Did you wanna do something? Oh! I could show you some of my recipes that I'm working on for class!"  
"That sounds pretty wonderful, Miss Crocker! I think we should do this. I'd offer to show you some of the stuff for my class, but it's pretty lame by comparison." He laughed nervously, rubbing a hand over his forehead.  
"If you two lovebirds are finished we should totes play a game of Oracle or something," Roxy offered with a roll of her eyes. Fishing a notebook out of her bag and a few pens, she distributed them, and they set to work on their game.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where the fuck are you? ...yeah, I'm here already. Waiting outside. Well hurry the fuck up, loser." She sounded irritated but she wasn't; she was too busy swaying gently on her feet and making eyes at the dude that stood outside guarding the entrance. So what if she had pre-gamed before she got here? In the unlikely event that her mother's ID didn't work she'd at least be good to have a wonderful time. With or without that stupid blonde.   
  
"Hey."  
  
Speak of the fucking devil.  
  
"Dirk! Finally. Got your bro's ID?" The taller blonde flashed the small card. "Perfect. Let's do this."  
  
They made it into the establishment rather easily, Roxy not entirely sure if her flirty looks were necessary but figuring they'd at least... help. The club was loud in all the right ways, and Roxy grabbed Dirk's hand to pull him over to the bar.  
  
"Now for the _real_ test." Sliding up to the bar with him, she smiled sweetly at the bartender. Dirk gave a nod that was only a shade under curt.  
  
"What'll'ya have, miss?" He nodded at Dirk. "And you, 'shades?"  
  
"Amaretto stone sour for me," Roxy chimed happily. She could drink martinis all she wanted at home. Tonight was special. Dirk seemed to think about it.  
"Tequila Sunrise."  
"Right, right. IDs." Roxy fished around in her purse, producing the driver's liscense she'd swiped from her mom's bedside table years ago. Her nervousness soon gave way to a barely-there sigh of relief, happily accepting her drink and passing Dirk his. As they stepped away from the bar, she silently mouthed a 'fucking score' and headed towards one of the tables in back. She sat and he followed suit.  
  
"Bitchin'. Glad that worked!" She laughed, sipping her drink. "An' whaddid you get? I mean I heaaard you but... whasit?" Roxy leaned over, obnoxiously sticking her face right close to his glass. He rolled his eyes, but tipped it closer for her to taste.  
  
"Tequila Sunrise. I don't think you'll like it." Roxy pulled a face, leaning back again. "Told you."  
"Holy hell, that's... well I kinna like it but it's toooooo strong f'r me. Did they make it wrong?" The alcohol was just overpowering enough to make the 'sunrise' part of the drink make it taste awful.  
"Nah. S'not my fault it's too strong for the princess." He smirked, taking another drink.  
"Hey! Y'can fuck right off, misser Strider." Roxy took a drink from her own, making an over-exaggerated 'MMMMM' noise. If he rolled his eyes - which she was sure he did - she didn't see. "I like t'leave m'taste buds able t'enjoy th'other drinks I plan'n havin'."  
  
Their time at the club went pretty well, Roxy pointing out things here and there that she liked or hated about the place. Dirk complained about the music a lot, and she suggested to him that he should try and getting in with the owners to see if he could DJ here sometimes, making sure to mention how much more she liked his music than the stuff they had going on. She liked it okay, but she didn't have the same... understanding of the whole scene that he did.   
  
"Hey," she cooed at Dirk, well into her fifth drink. "C'mon an' dance with me, eh?" She pulled on his arm, attempting to drag him towards the dance floor. It was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree, the entirety of the club's lights dimmed to accentuate the middle of the building. All in all, it was pretty plain - the dance floor and bar were on the lower level, and a set of stairs on either side led to a bit of a lounge area. They'd been on a couch that sat between the bathrooms. She found it kinda cute how they differentiated between girls and guys with the signs 'skirts' and 'shirts'. Dirk resisted only a little, but he was smiling.  
  
"We're waiting for the next song, Rox. I swear if you make me dance to 'Party Rock Anthem' I will never speak to you again."  
"Come _on_ , Dirk! Don't act like yer above the fads, huh?" She pulled on him more. "Come onnnnnn." She noticed the reluctance with which he allowed her to tug him to the dance floor. But she was ecstatic that he let her dance with him in a bit of a more... physical way - she would have blamed it on the alcohol if she knew any better. But she didn't. She was totally into him and while it wasn't the alcohol she could blame it on the stuff anyway, if it came up later. 'Totes sorry bout that, Dirky,' she could imagine herself saying with a giggle. 'Y'know how I get when I've had a few.' Imagine her surprise though when he was dancing with her like he was into it - however, she was more than willing to chalk that up to the fact that _he_ had been drinking. Well, whatever. Let's not let that spoil a good evening.   
  
"Hey," he voiced into her ear halfway through the third song they'd been moving to. "I've gotta go see a man about a horse." She rolled her eyes and waved him off, bored with dancing as she had suddenly lost her partner. She'd tried to make her way back to the bar but felt a hand slide up her thigh and settle on her ribcage, the blonde turning to see who the fuck was feeling her up. It was a stranger, and that wasn't okay. She brushed the hand off, giving the man a bit of a look before she turned again to once more attempt to get to the bar. He pursued.  
  
"Fuck off," she warned, turning to face him, her words nearly lost in the loudness of the club.  
"S'a'matter, blondie?" She bristled at the nickname. "Didn't mean t'wear yer 'fuck me' pumps tonight?"  
"If there's gonna be a fuck it ain't gonna be with you," she spat, once again trying to head to the bar. He grabbed her arm and Roxy shrieked in a sudden panic, trying to wretch her hand away. "Let me go, fucker!"  
"I s'pose you can call me that," he chimed, aiming to pull her closer.  
"F-fuck, help -!" She struggled more but he managed to get her close enough - in the flurry of people dancing, the stranger elbowed her in the mouth and she was bleeding in a split second, trying to squirm away still. Shit. Her _dress_.  
  
Like a fucking angel, Dirk had appeared beside the man, taking a firm hold on the arm that held Roxy's.  
"I believe the lady asked you to let go." His voice was calm but stern enough to be heard over the buzz of the crowd. When the man didn't oblige right away Dirk's face set more, and his fingers flexed a tighter grip. The stranger's hand twitched open and Roxy pulled away, shrinking back. Jesus fuck.  
  
"An' who're you, then? What's 'er goin' rate, eh? Don't suppose you'd fancy to share?" _Pow_. If Roxy was well-versed in weilding fistkind Dirk must have been the master, because he'd laid the fucker out in less than half a second. He'd swept up next to her, curling an arm around her shoulders and holding her close to him as she trembled and her heart raced. Her eyes were wet but the tears weren't falling yet. Fuck, that had been scary. She clung to him like a child that had been seperated from it's mother in the supermarket.  
  
"Time to go, Roxy." With a parting glance over her shoulder at the man sprawled on the floor, she took a shuddering breath and held her hand over her bleeding mouth, nodding desperately. "How'd you get here, Rox?" His voice was quiet and soothing. His hand gently rubbed up and down her arm.   
  
"Cab," she mumbled, sniffling. She wished she wouldn't act like such a big baby. It hadn't even been that big of a deal. But it'd startled her, and bleeding wasn't helping. "Shit-" she coughed, spitting out the blood that'd gotten into her mouth.  
"Ah, fuck, Rox. He's supposed to be the one bleeding, not you. C'mere." He stopped, turning to face her and pulling an orange handkerchief out of his pocket. He was swaying on his feet a little, now, as if he had gathered all composure to knock that guy out. He held the kerchief to her mouth delicately, hand hovering until she took it herself. This way, he couldn't see the stupid, grateful smile she couldn't make go away. She opened her mouth to say something but the kerchief blocked it, and Dirk put his arm around her supportively again.  
  
"C-can you take me home?" It was different from what she wanted to say, but it was useful regardless. He gestured across the street to a 24-hour diner.  
"Let's sober up first. Last thing I want is for you to die in some car accident." She nodded, not having figured Dirk to be all that inebriated. But it was good to know he was responsible and funny to think that he couldn't hold his liquor like she could. Holding to him again, they crossed the street.   
  
\------  
  
"Jacob English!" Jane screeched, hitting him with one of the pillows from the couch. "You said there was nothing jumpy-outty in this movie and con-sarnit!!" She was breathing rapidly, her heart racing- still hitting Jake with the pillow as he laughed and laughed.  
"Jaaaaaane! Ow, c'mon now, quit it! It wasn't that scary!" Jake defended himself feebly, still chuckling and attempting to swipe the pillow from her. "Hey!" She didn't relent for another minute or so, soon tiring herself out.  
"I swear, one day you'll get yours, Jake! I'll do something so gosh-darned horrible you'll... you'll...!" She couldn't get it out, because she was laughing. At herself, at Jake; his glasses askew because she'd knocked them askance with the pillow. "Wet your britches! Hmm! What then!" She had her hands on her hips, mind racing to try and think of something sinister. The best she could come up with was baking him a pastry, telling him it was chocolate and actually having it be raspberry. What a hoot!  
  
"Janey, miss, you are positively horrifying." Jake had calmed down enough to speak normally, and was righting his glasses and patting her arm. "I'm sorry I gave you a startle. Would you like to pick the next flick?"  
"I would, yes! But you might give me some limits, else we'll watch Strawberry Shortcake for hours and hours! Hoo!"  
  
Jane wasn't going to try and cover up the fact that she still had feelings for Jake. Well, okay. She really should. And she would. Had been! For the entirety of the evening with him. Like a good girl, really! Being so close to him, just having a night to spend with the object of her affections and be friends... it was nice. Even if there was a tension about it ((brought on by herself, of course)) - she was enjoying it. She was doing a good job of resisting a lot of the urges she had to even do something as simple as moving closer to him - although he had let her hug around his arm at a few suspenseful moments! And she had stayed that way for a full _ten minutes_ before she had a small internal panic attack over what he might think of it and backed off. Whew!  
  
She looked at the clock after a few more movies, frowning and checking her phone. Roxy would have texted by now... what was going on?  
  
"Jake?" she asked in a bit of concern. "Have you heard from Dirk?" He matched her worried look with one of his own, shaking his head and reaching for his phone.  
"Come to think of it, I haven't! They did say they were together though, huh? Should I give them a ring?" He was standing, making his way to the end of the living room. Jane nodded, wringing her hands a bit. She wasn't too terribly concerned; she knew Roxy and Dirk were both very responsible people but - damnit all, Rox had her moments of 'probably less than a good idea'. And it made Jane worry.  
  
\------  
  
"I mean seriously, you fuckin' laid him out dude - I don't think I've ever seen anyone drop so quick." Roxy took a sip of her water, shaking her head. "I don't know why it spooked me so bad, and I know I said it already, but thank you." She had that look about her that she got when she was really thinking about something, Dirk noticed, and he nodded.  
  
"Wasn't about to let you get dragged off by some creepo." He could tell from the look in her eye that it wasn't just something a simple wave-off would satisfy. He put down his own glass and closed the short gap between them, pulling her into a hug. "You're welcome. You're a good girl Rox. I've got your back whenever you need it." That seemed to do the trick and she was hugging him back. The sentimental moment was cut short, however, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Leaning back he pulled it out, swearing.  
  
"Something wrong?" She was gripping her glass again. He patted her arm.  
"I forgot to touch base with Jake. I think he's worried. I'll be back. Scream real loud if you need me." He stood from the table and headed towards the doors of the diner, stepping out and answering his phone. Short second later he'd lit a cig, figuring it as good a time as any to have one. Now that his head had cleared up and all.  
  
"English."  
"Dirk! Jeez, man, you said you'd call two hours ago! Is everything alright?"  
"Now it is."  
"Now?? What happened?" Dirk heard Jane's worried squeal.  
"Rox had a bit of a run-in with some creepazoid at the club. She's a bit shaken up, so I was sitting with her at the diner to calm her down."  
"Is she alright? Hey -!"  
"Dirk? Dirk! Is Roxy okay? Are you okay?" Jane had snatched Jake's phone from him, anxiously interrogating Dirk.  
"Heya Jane. Yeah, Roxy'll be alright. We had a few at the club and some guy tried to get all handsy with Lalonde. Set him straight, though." He heard the diner door open behind him and saw Roxy somewhat swaying out, shoulders hunched a bit. It'd dropped a few degrees since they'd arrived, and without the constant oppression of body heat from the club it WAS pretty cold. He put an arm around her to warm her up, handing her the phone. "It's Jane." Roxy took it, and he took a drag from his cig, now un-burdened.  
  
"Janeyyyy," Roxy whined. "Some guy was all over me and it was creepy as fuck and I totes thought he was going to drag me away into some dark alley but then Dirk was all 'nuh-uh fucker' and laid him the FUCK OUT Jane it was so scary but also soooo fuckin' boss."  
"Thank heavens you're alright! I wish I had been there, I'd haven given him a taste of my mind myself! Hoo hoo!" Jane was talking loud enough into the phone for Dirk to hear it.   
"Sorry I didn't check in. I was a bit distracted. I think my phone's dead anyway so whoops."  
"I keep telling you to get a new charger! - Yes, Jake, it's Roxy. Yes, she's fine. Dirk punched some guy!"  
"Roxy!" Jake had taken the phone back.  
"Jakey, hi. I'm totes fine, I promise. Dirk's my hero, just so you know." Finished with his cig, he flicked it away, and collected his phone again.  
"Jake. I'll call you when I'm back home. Gonna take Rox to her pad and make sure she gets home safe."  
"Roger-dodger! Talk to you soon. Bye!"  
"Peace." Hanging up, he slid the device back into his pocket, giving Roxy a weird look. "Won't they think we've run out on the tab?" She shook her head.  
"Nah, I covered it. Least I could do for causing a scene." He rolled his eyes.  
"I've got you next time. Although hopefully it won't be to sober up after someone tries to put moves on you."


	7. Chapter 7

Jake walked Jane home after the small panic over Roxy that she had had, hugging her and assuring her beyond any doubt that the blonde lass was one hundred and TEN percent perfectly okay. Jake knew that Rox was a good, tough girl that could handle herself! Especially with Dirk there looking out for her. To be honest, Jake was almost glad Dirk was staying with her. And not entirely for the benefit of the young Lalonde. Sometimes it just got so tiresome, trying to keep up with Strider and his... shenanigans! Letting himself into his own house he sighed, slumping onto his couch and taking out his phone. He didn't want to text Dirk in fear of waking up or disturbing Roxy, so he instead texted Jane. 'Janey old girl, howre you holding up? I hope this evening hasnt taken too much of a negative toll on you!' He closed his phone with a sigh, staring blankly at his turned-off TV. It was late, and he was tired - but not tired enough to sleep. So he brought out his laptop, opting to dick around on the internet until his brain checked out.  
  
Talked to Jane a bit, fought with the AR about the circadian rhythm of lusii according to their size and brain mass, checked a few things here and there. He eventually turned on the TV for a bit of a background noise, finding comfort in the lull of an old documentary. It was going on about something in Spain, Jake not quite able to focus on it enough to care. The seascapes were beautiful though, and he'd glance up every so often and catch one or two of them. He eventually bade farewell to Jane, and meandered to his bedroom to catch a few z's.  
  
\------  
  
Dirk stayed the night by Roxy at the behest of both Jake AND Jane, waking infrequently to check on her or bring her water, or to wake her from a seemingly bad dream. He didn't think she was too drunk to handle herself, but he figured the 'incident' might leave her a bit shaken, and he empathized not wanting to be alone after something like that. At one point, as he was turning to leave, she had grabbed his arm and sleepily asked him to stay by her for a few minutes. He'd sat on the edge of her bed, gently stroking her hair until she'd fallen asleep again, then returned to his post on the couch.  
  
He left her a note, taking off a bit before his class. Dirk had no doubt in his mind that he'd see her later, but he implored her to text or call if she needed anything. Most of his lesson was spent in a tired haze, thoughts drifting to and fro, between his friends. The _one_ class he took, and he couldn't even pay attention. Some computer science deal, preaching words he was already well-versed in. He'd pass with flying colours, but the fact his thoughts were unable to focus was irritating.   
  
He pulled out his phone, shooting a text to Jake. 'Left Rox a bit ago. Seemed okay. Meet up with our girls later?' Maybe Dirk would catch a nap in the meantime. After class. He felt bad about not seeing Jake last night, but he was fairly concerned about Roxy. For as tough as she seemed, seeing her resolution crumble like that had... bothered him. Hell, he knew she herself could have knocked the asshole down, but she hadn't. She'd frozen, gotten scared. What the fuck was up with that? Bzzzz. 'Right-o, chap! Ill see to it that the girls join us post-haste.' Lecture over, he gathered his shit and headed home.   
  
Dropping his shit on the couch he collapsed onto it, dropping his phone on the floor next to him. He hadn't really gotten a lot of sleep last night - he wasn't complaining - but it was catching up with him. Managing to turn on the TV before he passed out, he flipped to some dumb cartoony channel. Pulled off his shades. Stared bleary-eyed at the television. Then was out like a light.  
  
\------  
  
GG: I'm just... really worried about Roxy!  
GT: Thats understandable, jane! From what i understand she had quite the night. Do you suppose we should check up on her?  
GG: Oh dear, I'm not sure. Maybe it's best we let her recover and get to us when she's feeling up to it?  
GT: I did promise dirk id get ahold of her for coffee shenanigans later... but i suppose giving her a bit more time couldnt possibly hurt.  
GG: Hmph! I suppose not. One more hour that missy gets before I'm going to be all over her like -  
GG: ...well, I don't rightly know, but she'll be getting a whirl of concerned messages from me! Hoo!  
GT: Shell be okay. Dirk was with her this morning before he went to class.  
GG: I tend to forget he actually does something like that! Some computer buggery, isn't it?  
GT: Computer science, if memory serves!  
GG: Right! He's aces at that sort-of thing.  
GT: Sorry to say though miss crocker im pooped. Im gonna let you go so i can take a nap! Could you do me a favor and text roxy though? Im a bit hesitant to after something like what happened... Id much rather her number one ladyfriend do that!  
GG: Sure thing, J! You enjoy your nap! :B  
GT: Im definitely going to do that. Bye jane!  
\-- golgothasTerror [GT] ceased pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG] --  
  
Sigh. Sigh! Jany was all sorts-of worked up at this point. Having spent almost an entire evening with Jake, then the thing with Roxy - her emotions were in a tizzy. And Dirk had spent the night by Roxy. Jane had suggested it almost maybe a little more for the benefit of Roxy's feels than she had her well-being; and maybe being a caretaker would make Dirk realize something that Roxy had forever hoped was there. If even a spark. Just a little. Jane was never, ever one to play matchmaker - her own tragically empty love life was a good indication at how perfectly terrible she was at it - but her bff had just seemed so upset by it. Jane wanted to help. And there was an itsy bitsy part of her that felt that maybe, if she just give everyone a little nudge... it might help.   
  
She was nearly late to class, giving the blonde a ring on her walk to school. Well, jog - jogging was what she was doing, in an effort to be on time. Roxy eventually picked up, sounding a bit more despondent than Jane would have liked. Ideally not at all - but the girl had a little leeway given what had happened last night.  
  
"Hello?"  
"Lal-pal! I'm glad I got ahold of you. How're you doing?" Jane's words were quick, the girl nearly out of breath by the time she'd managed to get herself within a block of the.  
"Hungover as fuck. Fear and booze don't mix well." Jane heard a groan, and she winced sympathetically.  
"Dirk stayed over, yes?" She meant nothing by that, really. Really!  
"Yeah, downstairs. Checked up on me a lot. He sat by me for a few minutes when I asked him to." Roxy sighed, and fell silent. Jane slowed her pace. Her brows knit.  
"Roxy?" Still silence. "Rolal I-"  
"I can't do it, Jane." Instant frown. She stopped walking altogether, holding her phone to her ear with both hands as to not miss a single word.  
"Do... what, dearie?"  
"This. This whole thing where I pretend I'm fucking okay. He just keeps _doing_ it, Janey. Keeps being a fucking hero, keeps being this idol - fucking beacon of goddamn hope in the shitty miasma that is my miserable life." Janey was stunned. Silence followed until -   
"Oh, Roxy. Please don't cry." Because if Roxy cried, Jane would too. And Janey really didn't need to cry. Not before - oh shit. She was super duper going to be late. Her heart broke in two, then, trying to decide between going to class or talking to Roxy. She held the phone away from herself for a moment to sigh, letting Roxy blubber on the other end, and turned to head back to her apartment.  
"I just c-can't do it, Janey. Nope nope n-nope. This isn't a thing that can be done. Roxy Lalonde c-cannot handle her feels." Jane was quiet again.  
"...what do you want me to do, Ro?" Her voice was very hesitant.  
"N-nothing. You don't h-have to do anything, duh."  
"Oh dearie I have to do SOMETHI-"  
"Really, don't worry about it. Coping just sucks, you know?" Good heavens, Jane was in way over her head with this Cupid thing.  
"Yeah... I can understand that much." Coffee might get her going! Fresh air, and her friends. "Say, we're all headed to the coffeeshop in a... well, after classes like usual - meet us there? I'm sure at least getting out of the house will clear your head a bit!"  
"He left me a f-fucking note, Janey. 'R-Roxy-'" The blonde's tone changed, and Jane guessed she was reading the note. "You bet I'd love nothing more than to help you nurse the w-wicked hangover you're no doubt sporting right now, b-but I've got class. Hopefully I'll s-see you later. Text or call if you need - and it's f-fucking _underlined_ , Janey - anything. B-be good. Dirk." Jane heard paper crumpling, and assumed it was said note.  
"That... sounded... pretty tame to me?" The brunette was confused.  
"He didn't h-have to write me a fucking note, Jane. I know where he f-fucking lives, I know where he fucking goes to school - I know where he's going to f-fucking be nearly 24-goddamn-7." Jane bit her lip a bit, unlocking the door to her apartment. Oh, dear.  
"Will you come over? Or, will you at least be at the coffeeshop at the usual time?" She sighed. "Please?" She really hated seeing - hearing, really - Roxy like this.   
"Maybe. I'm going back to bed."  
  
....and she just hung up.


	8. Chapter 8

Roxy tossed her phone off the side of her bed, laying back down again and staring at her ceiling. Her eyes hurt. She was really, really tired of feeling like this. And she knew it wouldn't relent unless she did something. Rolling over she spotted her school books on her desk, groaning and rubbing her eyes. Fuuuuck. No more. A grunt came with her sitting up, swaying where she rest against her bed. She hadn't had a hangover this bad in... man, ages. Shaky legs took her to her desk, Roxy pushing all her books, papers, everything - off the side. Most of it fell into the garbage. Whoops. Backpack was taken in hand and thrown into the hallway closet uncerimoniously. Frigglish meowed worriedly at her from the bathroom, and she shot the cat a glare.  
  
"Don't fuckin' give me that shit, Friggly. I'm totes not in the mood." He meowed again. "Shut up." She stormed downstairs, plopping down at the kitchen table and closing her eyes; face rest in her hands. "Fuck." Even a deep breath couldn't keep her from crying again. She always did this! This always happened. But admittedly, this was the first time that she'd felt so fucking steadfast about her decisions. Which was to sit the fuck down and not move ever again. Yep. That was a thing that was going to happen. Well, sit the fuck down on /the couch/ and not move ever again. She shuffled into the living room - not even sure why she had come into the kitchen in the first place - whoops, yes she did. To pop three excedrine and wash them down with  a swig of one of her more top-shelf vodkas. Fuck tha po-lice. Bottle accompanied her to the living room, dropping onto the couch heavily and flipping on the TV. There was never anything good on.  
  
\------  
  
"Someone's conspicuously absent," Dirk noted, arms crossed, sitting across from Jake and Jane. "And where's Roxy?" He couldn't ignore the sudden jolt of concern he felt. He watched Jane wring her hands, and Jake pat her back in an encouraging way.  
"Roxy... won't be joining us, today." She sounded as forlorn about it as he felt. She looked up at him, worry evident. "Sh-she said... not to worry." Uh-huh. He knew that look.  
"I'll be back." He stood, tossing a few bills onto the table to cover the coffee he didn't even drink. Jane stood in a hurry, knocking her stack of books over.  
"Dirk, no - please, don't. She'll think I sent you. Please... don't." That made him raise his brow, and sit back down again. But it was offensive, not defensive - on the edge of the coffee table, in front of Jane, staring at her through narrowed eyes behind his shades.  
"Why would she think you sent me? And why would that be a bad thing?" She just watched him, worried. "Talk to me, Jane."  
"I... er..." Nope, not good enough. He stood without another word, and left the coffeeshop. Quick check of his phone and he texted Roxy. Five minutes into his walk warranted no reply, so he tried calling. Still nothing. Clearly angry, he pocketed his phone again. He was mad at himself for leaving her after what had happened. He could have skipped class, no big deal. Roxy had needed him, and he'd up and left. Stupid, stupid. Dirk wished he had spoken to Jane a bit more in-depth this morning, or even just now - she'd clearly talked to Rox before they all went to the coffeeshop, so she _had_ to know something. Anything. He felt... guilty.  
  
While he had a key to her apartment, he opted for knocking. It was polite. And Roxy didn't need any unexpected surprises.  
  
"Rox?" Was that the TV? "I'm pretty sure you're home. Watching shitty soaps again? ....Roxy?" The closeness of her voice through the door startled him.  
"Go away, Dirk." Whoa, wait, what? Her voice was... strained. Like she was... crying?  
"Is everything okay? Hey, let me in." He reached for his keys, but he heard her lock the bolt. She never locked the bolt. Primarily because her key had broken off in it in a drunken stupor and she hadn't bothered getting it fixed. He was locked out for real. And it made him worry more. "C'mon, babe, open the door."  
"No, I can't - you can't be here, Dirk." She paused to sniffle. "Just please go away."  
"Can't be here? Fuck that, I'll piss on the lawn if I want to. Just let me in. Talk to me."  
"No."  
"Dammit, Rox, open the fucking door!" His fist slammed against it once, and he heard her make a frightened noise as if it had startled her. Okay. That had been a bit much. But he wasn't leaving. "I'm going to sit out here until you tell me what's wrong, Roxy." As if to prove his point, he sat with his back against the door. He made it loud enough for her to hear.  
"I hope it rains." Her parting words, and he heard her couch springs squeal as she sat back down.  
  
\------  
  
"What was that all about?" Jake asked worriedly, watching the blonde leave. Jane shook her head.  
"I think I've done something really horribly awful, Jake." He turned to her, confused look on his face. Hers was that of... regret?  
"What do you mean, miss Crocker?" He was glad she couldn't see how hard he was fighting the urge to tug on his collar. The answer was very. The brunette took a deep breath, wringing her hands.  
"Oh Jake, I - horsefeathers, this is a really sticky situation! I may have urged Dirk to look after Roxy last night because..."  
"Because?" He put his hand on her arm, urging her with his eyes. "Out with it, lass!"  
"Because she has a thing for him, Jake! I've known it for a shucks-awful long time, and I thought that maybe she could get it out of her darn system if he kept an eye on her!"  
"A thing?" Confused. Oh. A thing. "...that sort-of thing." He did tug at his collar now, swallowing. Well. That wasn't so bad, was it? "But why isn't she here? Wouldn't being here be... a certifiably good thing?"  
  
Now just a darn second there, partner. He had to think about this for a second. Just how long had Roxy had a thing for Dirk? The person he was technically seeing? Knowing the girl's penchant for stubbornness, probably a long time. He didn't... he wasn't sure how he felt about that. While he didn't feel exactly the same way for Dirk that the blonde did for him, he couldn't help that tiny feeling of possessiveness. It was unfounded, really, but it was there all the same. He felt bad for it, honestly - Roxy was one of his best pals, and he didn't like thinking she was at all torn up about this. Hell, he even felt bad for keeping Dirk from her. He wasn't giving the blonde quite what he wanted, and something in him told him that Roxy would do a very good job of keeping an eye on him in ways that Jake couldn't devote his whole heart to. Tied up with the string of inevitability, he desperately wanted Roxy to cut it for them. So he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know much more about it. Especially not when it made Jane look like _that_.  
  
"She said... she couldn't do it anymore? She just sounded so depressed, Jake - I begged her to come to the coffee shop, but she hung up on me. I feel terrible. I just wanted them to talk or for Dirk to tell her that he wasn't interested, anything to get her to stop thinking about it." Jane laughed, shaking her head. "I mean I guess I can sympathize, but I do feel perfectly horrible."  
"But miss Crocker, how could you feel like that?" Was he not getting something? She looked over at him again, and the look she gave him made his grip on her arm tighten just a little bit. He knew what she was going to say before she even said it.  
"I've got a thing for you, Jake. I didn't want to say anything because... I didn't want to mess things up for you and Dirk. He's just so happy and I - I feel even worse about everything, now." She covered her face with her hands and Jake turned to face her more, hands loose on both her wrists.  
"Oh Jane, I - " Was now the time? It seemed like a better opportunity wouldn't present itself, the way things were going. "I'm actually a little relieved." She let her arms go limp, hands falling into her lap. Jake's hands followed.  
"Relieved? Jake English, I never thought -"  
"No no, I'm not at all pleased at any of the Debby-downeroos that surround this sticky wicket! I assure you. But I'm relieved that you said something, first. It..." C'mon, English! Hike up those britches like a man! Of adventure! Would Indiana Jones ever fail to impress a lady? No sir, he would not! "Hah, makes it a lot easier for me to say I like you too! As Roxy might say, for real real, not for play play." He hoped his doofy, buck-toothed grin would make her feel better, and he leaned down a bit, seeking to make eye contact. He did. She smiled helplessly.  
"What do we do?" Her question was small and far-away. "I don't want to mess things up even more."  
"I don't think we have to, Janey ol' girl. I mean, if you're anything like me you've kept these feelings under wraps for a long time! Like a mummy guarding an ancient Egyptian treasure!" She laughed at that, and it made him feel a little better.  
"I guess it's best to clear the air like this, huh? Hoo, I never thought I'd get to tell you. That was a bit of a troublesome thought!" She sighed, sitting back up again, hands sliding to hold his in what he could no longer consider a manner that was entirely platonic. "But I think... we should keep it hush-hush. For now. Let's not stir the trouble-pot."  
"Maybe I should tell Dirk? I mean, I know it'll upset him - but if him and I are together, that rather cements things, doesn't it?" He gripped her fingers gently. It'd... be difficult. Especially with how - wow - Jane felt the same way for him. But he didn't want to hide something like this from Dirk. If the blonde found out without Jake telling him, that would definitely stir the trouble-pot. It would boil over, and then all anyone was left with was a big ol' mess.


	9. Chapter 9

She felt bad, locking Dirk out like that. But she really... didn't want to see him. Or talk to him. Or have anything to do with him right now. Roxy wondered how long he'd sit out there. ...and cringed. Knowing him, until she decided to speak to him. Pushing the thought out of her head, she turned the volume on the TV up louder, drowning herself in the bottle of booze she'd brought from the kitchen. Under blankets and a very sleepy Frigglish, she did her best to focus on anything else. ...until she pulled her phone out of her pocket, texting Jane. 'idk wyh u setn him here janey i dont want 2 talk to ihm'. She had responded by the next commercial break. 'Oh Lal-pal, I didn't send him! I tried to stop him, but he just left! I'm sorry...' Roxy rolled her eyes and tossed her phone on the other side of the couch, taking another swig from her bottle. Fuck. It burned the cut on her lip.  
  
Another Turner Classic Movie later, she sighed and hauled herself off the couch, shuffling to the door. Unlocked the bolt. Cautiously opened it. Dirk wasn't there anymore.  
  
"Dirk?" she called uneasily, stepping outside. "Dirk...?" She spotted smoke curling from around the corner, so she... hesitantly... approached. Poked her head around.  
"Deemed me worthy enough to talk to, finally?" He was leaning against the wall coolly, smoking and watching the street. Roxy lowered her head a bit. She couldn't place his tone, and it bothered her.  
"Dirk, I'm sorry." She wrung her hands. "I was freaked out, I didn't mean to-"  
"It's fine, Rox. I understand." Something told her he didn't.   
"But it's not fine, I'm bein' a bitch an' I'm sorry." Pause, sigh. "Wanna come inside?"  
"You're not going to the coffee shop? I bet they're still there."  
"Well now I jus' feel bad for makin' 'em wait."  
"What's really bugging you, Roxy?" He threw his cigarette butt into the street, turning to face her. "It's not just the thing last night. You've been more ridiculous than usual."  
"I don't - ...I don't wanna talk about it." She worried her bottom lip. "Can we jus' forget I was an idiot and... whatever?" Hopeful eyes watched him. He sighed, but nodded.  
"Yeah. We can do that." She expected him to say 'for now' but if he had any plans to, he kept it to himself. He moved away from the wall and she headed towards her door, letting them both in.  
"Y'want anything?" she asked, stepping around piles of clothes towards the kitchen.  
"Not if all you're going to offer me is booze."  
"I got normal shit too," she defended, yanking open the fridge. "Like... juice an' shit." Pulling a gallon of OJ out she filled a glass, shoving it at him. "Drink up. Yer a growin' boy." He smirked at her, taking a drink.  
"So let's talk, huh? How's that project going?" Roxy froze.  
"Uh... It's not." Awkward pause. "I'm not gonna do it." Dirk stopped drinking the juice.  
"Why not?" He frowned at her. "You're a smart girl, don't fuck up your school shit for no good reason."  
  
But it was a good reason. To her anyway.  
  
"I need a break, dude." Roxy slumped against the countertop, staring at the kitchen floor tiles. "I'm gonna give myself a goddamn aneurism if I keep this shit up. Just a semester, though. Maybe half of one." She shrugged. "I dunno. I need some Roxy-time." She couldn't tell Dirk what was really going on in her dumb head. There's no way... not after what had happened last night. He'd probably just write it off as 'oh rox you're just in love with my heroism' or something. He didn't reply right away, but he seemed to be thinking. At least he didn't seem totally abhorred by her idea.  
  
"That's fair." Roxy blinked.  
"You think so?"  
"I'm not your fucking mother, Rox. I mean, shit - I care that you're fucking things up in school, but I also know that if it's happening because you're overwhelmed piling more shit on top of it isn't going to help. Take a break. Relax." She heard his phone buzz. He checked it, sighing. "I gotta take off though." Downing the rest of the juice, he handed her the glass. She eyed him curiously.  
  
"Jake?" Logical explanation.  
"Yeah. Says he wants to talk about something. I swear to god though if he's asking me to go on another dumb field trip of his to the middle of nowhere I'm gonna sock him in the chest. Thanks for the juice." He headed for the door, and Roxy followed to see him out. "You should stop by Jane's later, though. She's worried." She just might.  
"Hey-" Roxy reached after him as he was just over the threshhold. He turned, impassive look mostly hidden by his shades. Her smile was difficult to maintain. "Thanks again for helping me."  
"T'weren't nothin." He tipped an imaginary hat, and was gone.  
  
\------  
  
"You sure it's a good idea, Jake?" Jane's look was worried behind her own glasses. She was gripping her drink tightly, anything to keep her hands from nervously fretting about the young English. He gave her a reassuring smile.  
  
"I really have no choice, do I? Secrets are a bad thing, Jane! I think if he had some mysterious feelings for someone else he'd let me know, too. He's that type of guy. Besides, I already texted him telling him I wanted to talk to him."   
"I just really hope things go okay, Jake! I'd hate to be the one to make everything crumble, hoo." She shook her head. "Just... I'd like for you not to mention how you feel for me, since I feel like that would really be the gosh-darn deal-breaker!" The absolute last thing Jane wanted was for this to backfire in her face. She'd never even meant for Jake to find out her own feelings. The reciprocation was something she was totally not expecting. It really threw a wrench in the works! But she really knew how Jake felt about Dirk, and even though she knew both of them were happy... She sighed.   
  
"I think that's something I'm going to keep to myself. Erm, well... secrets are bad, but I don't want him to think I've gone all wishy-washy with this!" He rubbed the back of his neck, and Jane found it hard not to find it even more insanely endearing. He was so awkward without even meaning to be. It was one of the main reasons she was so dang attracted to him! "He does treat me well. And I must say, the publicity is something that I enjoy quite a bit!"   
"You're such a ham, Jake English!" Jane pushed her nose up, like a pig's. "Oink oink! I love the spotlight!" They both laughed at that, but the sound tapered off nervously as Dirk approached. Jane checked her watch. "Good heavens, it's been hours - is Roxy okay?"  
"Yeah. More or less she's taking a break from school. She's gonna run herself into the ground without one." He smirked. "Sorry all that work you did on her project was for nothing." Jane sighed.  
"I'll probably end up finishing it for her just so she can take her break on a good note." A thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Oh, dear..."   
  
Both Jake and Dirk looked at her.  
  
"Something wrong, miss Crocker?"  
"What other secrets are you hiding from us?"  
"O-oh!" Put on the spot, Jane shook her head rapidly. "Nothing, I - Oh, well... It's just, the last time Roxy was talking about taking a break, she said she had wanted to go back home. I really hope she doesn't leave us." The way things were looking with Roxy, though... she just might do that. Get away from everything. Oh, it'd just break her heart!  
  
"You should go talk to her," Dirk suggested. "I told her to see you later, but it might be wise to catch her before she makes any more plans." Jane nodded, collecting her things.   
"You're right... I think I'll go do that now. I hope I'm not too late. I'm not very good at de-railing trains!"  
  
She was nearing Roxy's apartment, sighing to herself. Completely worried about everything. About Jake and Dirk. About Roxy. About Dirk and Roxy. Good heavens, no wonder Lalonde found herself drinking so much - this was a handful to deal with! N-not that she was about to go dipping into anything herself, but she... had a lot more respect for Roxy than she did previously. And felt kinda bad!   
  
Rapping on the door upon her arrival, she waited nearly a full two minutes before Roxy pulled it open. Jane smiled at her, instantly hugging around Roxy's shoulders.  
  
"Please don't leave, Roxy! I'll be so gosh-danged upset if you do. You're my best friend!" Jane didn't even give the blonde time to reply before she pushed her inside, closing the door with her foot.   
"Janey what the eff are you talking about?"  
"Every time you say you're taking a break you talk about going home! And this time missy I just might have to follow you!" Jane was nearly in tears but she didn't care. The thought of Roxy leaving her here was horrible. Not only would she be outnumbered by the fellows, she would have the awkwardness of dealing with the Dirk and Jake thing.   
"Janey I-"  
"Nonsense, into the kitchen. I'll get you something to drink. Make you some tea." She spun Roxy around and started marching her towards the kitchen.  
"I have tea?" Dumbfounded words left her as Jane sat her down at the table. She was soon bustling through cupboards.  
"You sure do, missy! I brought it for you last Christmas but I guess you never found it. Earl Grey for you, young lady. And I'm taking that liquor bottle!" Roxy groaned.  
"Jaaaane c'mon s'not like I'm doin' anything stupid," she defended grumpily. "I was jus tellin Dirk I needed some time off cos school's kickin my ass. I really wasn't plannin' on leavin', Jane. I promise." Jane set the water to boil and sat down at the table, across from her bffsie. Her look was... difficult.  
"I know it's not just that, Lal-pal," she murmured gently. Roxy's cheeks flushed suddenly, the blonde looking away from her. "But I have to tell you, things might get a little better for you - I finally talked to Jake." Rox's eyes were back on her in an instant, wide and excited.  
"And?! What th'fuck did he say? Did he grope his stupid kerchief an' say somethin' stupid like 'tut tut miss Crocker now's not th'time for stuff like that!' ?? Well?" Jane took a deep breath, smiling something really stupid.  
"He said he likes me too. Can you believe it, Roxy? After all this gosh-darn time. He likes me too." It felt really good to be telling her bestie this. It'd been a long while since her and Roxy had sat down for a conversation that wasn't about school! Roxy immediately squealed, nearly falling out of her chair to rush over and hug Jane.  
"Holy shitsnacks that's fuckin' great, Janey!" She paused. "But... what bout Dirk? Are you and Jake gonna... you know..."  
"If you're going to say elope you should cut that out of your vernacular right now! No, we're... well.. hm..." It was difficult to say what the exact plan was. The teapot was whistling and she got up, pouring piping hot water over two teabags in two cups. "He's... going to talk to Dirk. Tell him how I feel. I don't want to mess things up so I told him not to mention his own feelings." She brought the cups over, sitting down again.  
"Sounds tricksy. I hope Dirk takes it okay." Roxy blew on the hot tea, taking a careful sip. "How does that help me, though?"  
"Well I... well I figured it might..." Jane frowned. "I guess I don't rightly know. But that has to be good for something, right?" Worrying her bottom lip, she sipped her own tea. Roxy sighed.  
"Sounds just like the old days. Roxy Lalonde, bachelorette extraordinaire."


	10. Chapter 10

"So what's this you need to talk about, English?" Dirk asked, leaning back against the coffee-shop chair. He had a hot chocolate with about five shots of espresso in it, and his leg was bouncing not unlike Roxy's tended to do. He wasn't anxious or nervous. Just wired. Jake, on the other hand... Looked like he was about to fill his shoes. "Jake," he repeated calmly. "Talk to me."   
"O-oh, Dirk," he replied with a laugh, but it was nervous. "Well, when you were talking with Roxy... I had the opportunity to talk to Jane!"  
"Yeah?" Where was this going? He suddenly felt uncomfortable; tired, as if he was crashing already from all the caffeine.  
"Well I... found out that miss Crocker seems to have a bit of a thing for me!" Jake laughed nervously, tugging at his collar. "How silly is that?"  
"I see." He... he supposed it could be worse. But even still, he felt the colour drain from his face slightly. He was glad he was sitting down. Jane had a thing for Jake, huh? Something told him this conversation was far from over. "And?"  
"And what? She's got a thing for me! You know, 'a th-"  
"I heard you the first damn time, Jake. Despite your choosing to use terminology more befitting of a 13 year-old I understand what you're saying," Dirk snapped. He felt guilty for it when he saw Jake wince, but he didn't apologize.  
"R-right... well, that's about the end of it, then! I gently reminded her that I was quite happily spoken for and that... was that."  
  
For some reason, he didn't believe him. For some reason, he knew he was lying and there was more to the story than that. But for some reason, he didn't say anything for a few long seconds. He nodded, finally speaking.  
  
"Poor Jane then, huh? Fighting a battle she can't win." His words were bitter and self-satisfied, and he didn't care to control himself. It was probably the caffeine.  
"R-right!" Jake finalized with another nod of his own, wringing his hands before sitting on them.   
  
And that was that, then. Dirk didn't say anything further on the issue, and Jake had the common courtesy to do the same. The silence in which they finished their coffee was uncomfortable to say the least, before Dirk stood, pulling Jake up with him.  
  
"Eh-?" Dirk eyed the young adventurer. "Oh, you've - you've got that look in your eye. ....now?" Dirk shrugged casually. Something was just nagging at him, and the need to be satisfied would hopefully overshadow the doubt that nestled in his stomach.  
  
"Why not now? C'mon, Jake. Won't have the girls interrupting us, either." Jake sighed, and Dirk would be lying if he said it didn't hurt just a little bit.  
"Yes you're... right. A rare opportunity indeed. Where're we... off to, then?"  
"This place has a bathroom, doesn't it?" Oh good lord, Jake's _face_. Against the stoicism Dirk desperately wanted to maintain, he burst out laughing. "Holy fuck, English. I'm kidding. You -really- thought - My God. aha. You're a treasure, Jake." The lad was blushing curiously, and swatted Dirk's arm.  
"That's not exactly something a normal person just _says_ , Strider!" Dirk rolled his eyes.  
"Whenever did I give you the implication that I'm normal? That's your own dumb fault, not mine."  
  
\------  
  
When Jake was sure Dirk was asleep, he snuck out of the bed and to the backdoor, sitting on the steps that led into the alleyway. A part of him knew that Dirk wasn't asleep. It was the same part of him that didn't care. Their.. erm... antics had been rather... rough. Moreso than usual. It was like Dirk was trying to prove something. It was possessive and made him... uncomfortable. He picked up his phone, dialing Jane's number. It was really late, but he hoped she would answer.  
  
"Hello?" Her voice was sleepy, and he felt guilty.  
"Miss Crocker, hi. I'm terribly sorry to wake you at such an hour but - blast it all, I... need someone to talk to."  
"Jake, it's four in the morning," she groaned. "...are you okay?" He tugged at the collar of his t-shirt.  
"It's Dirk. I... did what I said I would, right? Told him that you had feelings for me and I said nothing on reciprocation. But he... erm... Oh fiddlesticks, this is a bit difficult to iterate." He heard shuffling on the other end before Jane spoke again.  
"Did he hurt you? Jake, are you okay?" The urgency in her voice alarmed him. He hadn't meant to startle her.  
"W-well, not on purpose I assume -"  
"What happened? Where are you, Jake?" Shucks, he really didn't want Jane worrying so much. Maybe he should have called Roxy. "I'll get ahold of Roxy, and we can have a pow-wow, okay?" Jake slapped his forehead, dragging his hand over his face. Whoops, he'd left his glasses upstairs.   
"You won't let me say no, will you?" he sighed. Though, on the inside, he really did want to talk about it.  
"I won't have it, Jake English! You'll meet with us and I don't give a dixie toot if you want to or not!" She startled him, and he found himself nodding dumbly at the phone. "Go to Roxy's, I'll let her know we're on our way. Erm, I know this goes without saying but don't tell Dirk." She paused. "I'm worried about you, Jake. I'll see you at Roxy's."  
  
\------  
  
Roxy sloughed herself out of bed after Jane hung up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She barely had any idea what was going on, but two things were clear: Jake needed help, and Jane was upset. Two things that could get her out of bed quicker than anything else. On most days.   
  
She hauled ass - and by that she hauled her mostly lazy and tired and partially hungover ass - downstairs, brewing up some coffee. She'd found it in the back of her cupboards; the fact that Jane had magically procured tea from somewhere in this apartment making her want to find what else was hidden away in their whimsical state of being shitty particle board and creaky. She sat at the kitchen table and waited, mind swimming with thoughts of what happend, and why her place was the meeting grounds. Jane had been excessively vague. Their conversation had amounted to the baking lass telling her Jake needed help and that they'd both be over at her place shortly. So when the pair of them shuffled into her kitchen, she eyed them worriedly.  
  
"What's going on?" the blonde mumbled, still chasing some of the sleepiness from her system. Jane was wringing her hands and Jake looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Roxy gestured towards the counter. "There's coffee, help yourselves. And stop looking like someone died." She paused. "...did someone die?"  
"Heavens no, Ro-Lal!" Jane assured hurriedly. "There's just been a bit of... erm... a breach, I suppose." Roxy pitched an eyebrow.  
"Breach?"  
"I-it's not that big of a deal, really, ladies," Jake tried to defend. "I suppose I made a bit of a mountain out of this molehill." Roxy stared at him.  
"Did you two finally do it or something? Do you need marriage counselling? Hold on, let me get my clipboard and weird-shaped couch." When her snarky assumption was met with apprehension instead of awkward giggles and footshuffling, she settled back against her chair. "Well I'll be fucked. What's actually wrong? You guys're scaring me."  
"Well..." Jane wrung her hands again, taking a deep breath. "Oh, I can't do this. It's not my business - Jake - ?" The boy took a similar breath and nodded.  
"Right, well..."  
"Jake, where are your glasses?" Roxy had suddenly noticed that his doofy face was considerably less doofy without his square specs. Well, a bit more doofy with how he was blushing.  
"I left them at Dirk's. I couldn't get them." Roxy blinked.  
"Why?"  
"I didn't want to chance him waking up."  
"Jake, what the fuck happened?" Roxy was standing now, circling the table to stand closer to the two brunettes. The feeling of nervousness that had followed  her downstairs was settling in her stomach and it made her feel queasy. When he hesitated, she could have punched him. "Dammit Jake, fucking say something!"  
"Ah! I'm sorry, miss Lalonde, I just -" Jake was tugging at his collar. "It's rather a little embarrassing, and I feel remarkably silly for alarming the both of you -"  
"Cut the shit, okay? If I didn't want you two standing in my goddamn kitchen at ass-o-clock in the fucking morning I would have told you to fuck off the second you got here. Spill it." Jake's hands were in his hair, gripping it gently as his brows pinched together.  
"Dirk and I we... well we were..." He swallowed nervously. "Well, d-doing... erm... gentlemanly things and..." Taking a deep breath, the boy loosed his hands and let them fall to his side. Closed his eyes, let the breath out. "G-gentlemanly things. Together. And he... got difficult." The mention of their antics made Roxy prickle a little, but she felt bad for it. She felt bad for getting mad, too. This was clearly bothering him. She put her hand on his arm and gently moved him towards a waiting chair, lowering him onto it.  
"So you two were at it and he got 'difficult'. Could you vague it up a little more, please? I think I understand too much."  
"Roxy!" Jane snipped, giving the blonde a look. Lalonde glared at her.  
"Well are you going to fucking tell me? I'm always out of the fucking loop left to parse out your stupid games. If I could get one clear answer to anything it'd be a goddamn Christmas miracle."  
"It was different, this time," Jake cut in, looking up at Roxy helplessly. "He was... rather unkind about the whole thing. Earlier I had informed him about miss Crocker's feelings for me and I think he... took offense to it. E-even though I told him I didn't feel the same way." Roxy pet his hair in a gentle, reassuring way.  
"Your first mistake was telling him," she replied flatly. "But how was it different? He didn't like take advantage of you or anything, did he?" She glanced at Jane, who met her eye contact briefly before sighing quietly.  
"Oh no, nothing like that. He just... it was a bit possessive, I suppose. Rough."  
"Marking his territory. At least he didn't piss on you, I guess."  
"Roxy Lalonde can you take anything seriously, please?" Jane groaned in exasperation, rubbing her face with her hands.  
"I am taking this fucking seriously, will you calm your goddamn tits?" Roxy looked back down at Jake. "So he roughed you up a bit. And you're scared of him?" Her heart fell a little when he nodded.  
"I don't think I've ever quite felt this way in regards to him, before. I'm afraid I don't like being some trophy to be won!" Both of the blonde's hands came to his hair, and she kissed the crown of his head in a motherly way before heading to the counter, getting him a cup of coffee. She sugared it up just a bit, and added a little cream before taking it back to him. He accepted it graciously.  
  
"Why'd you two come here?" She glanced between the two of them. "Am I supposed to lay the smackdown on him or something for giving his boyfriend a scare?" The 'b' word burned her tongue as she said it, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She ignored it to the best of her abilities.  
"I suppose we were hoping you could talk to him about it. You do seem to be the second closest to him of the people in this room!" Jane's eyes were hopeful, but Roxy saw the fallacy to their plan. It made her sigh.  
"You do realize he's going to be pissed as hell that you didn't talk to him yourself, Jake." She folded her arms. It was defensive, not offensive. She looked to Jane. "And he's sure as fuck gonna be pissed at you for meddling to begin with." Jane's look faded from concern to irritation.  
"Meddling? How am I meddling? I'm dreadfully sorry, mister Strider, that I've had eyes on your boy since the dawn of fluffing time!" Roxy shook her head, returning to her own cup of coffee.  
"Doesn't matter. You know how Dirk is. Everything goes his way or he _makes_ everything go his way." She sipped the brew carefully. The acidic burn of the liquid replaced the one acquired from her usage of the word she'd grown to hate so much. "Little Jakey's gonna pay for entertaining thoughts of a frisky nature even if he lied and says he doesn't have them. Dirk's gonna _make_ you his. Or he's gonna piss and moan and brood about it and no one will be happy ever again. The fucking end. Furthermore, he's going to be pissed at _me_ for being the central hub for feels-town. It ain't fucking fair, but as the old adage goes, all is fair in love and war."  
"I really don't know what to do," he muttered into his cup, staring at it wistfully. "I don't believe I'll ever have his trust back fully. And if he keeps this whole rough act up I doubt I'll be able to stick around much longer." He fell silent for a moment, Roxy and Jane both watching him. "I'm not sure I want to anymore, anyway."  
  
While the words made Roxy's heart ache for Dirk's happiness, she couldn't help but feel a slim sliver of hope fall across her thoughts. It was about fucking time something went her way. But she felt guilty thinking that. And she felt even stupider thinking that she could pick Dirk up on the rebound. It was stupid. And naïve. And pointless. And terrible of her for being so hopeful in the wake of Jake's obvious anguish. Her head swam a little, the sudden flush of negativity making her tired again. She put her cup down.  
  
"Why don't you two stay the night, or whatever's left of it. Jake, tomorrow you're gonna confront Dirk about this whole shitstorm yourself. I'm a lover, not a fighter. If he asks where the fuck you went make some shit up. Remembered some dumb project you had to finish but couldn't because you forgot your glasses. Because you're a doofus. Jane, you're going to sit down and shut up and not say anything because in Dirk's eyes you've done enough damage already. And I'm going to go the fuck upstairs and go back to sleep because fuck you both, I hate you for dragging me into this bullshit." Moving past them, she marched back up to her bedroom. She didn't hate either of them. Any of them. They knew she didn't mean it. She was mainly focused on the large amount of disdain she held for herself for letting herself get involved with this so fully. And focused on how much it hurt feeling so conflicted over it.


	11. Chapter 11

Jane had difficulty sleeping for the remainder of that evening. Her and Jake had taken the couch and loveseat in the living room, staying awake in some half-bleary state. She felt a hundred shades of awful for everything that was happening. But what she didn't feel awful for was reaching for Jake's hand and holding it while he talked, let stuff out - that was how they fell asleep.  
  
Classes were neglected the next morning, Jane finding it difficult to gather any sort-of interest in her studies today. Not when Jake looked like that, disheveled and exhausted and nervously glancing at his phone every five minutes or so. When Roxy came downstairs she stood, walking over to her blonde friend.  
  
"Don't even say it," Roxy mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Jake looks terrible and you feel terrible. I get it." Jane looked over her shoulder to the boy, then back to Roxy, nodding.  
"He's... he needs to go back and get his glasses. Oh, Roxy, I'm so worried about everything. I don't want to think about it, but I'm almost concerned Dirk might... I don't know..." Jane wrung her hands nervously.  
"I don't think Dirk's gonna do anything stupid, Jane," Roxy yawned, heading towards the kitchen. Jane followed. "But if he's up to it I'll go with him. Tell Dirk I found his Lost Boy or something."  
"You'd do that?" she asked Roxy in a relieved way. The blonde looked offended.  
"Of course I'd fucking do that. Are you stupid? Jakey's one of my best friends too, you know."  
"W-well I don't know! Maybe you've decided to wash your hands of this or something!" Jane was about to argue some more when Jake shuffled into the kitchen. He looked like he'd been struck. "Jake?" Concerned, Jane put her hand on his arm as he approached. He gave the girls a worried look.  
"He... hasn't texted or called me yet. I'm not quite sure if I should count that as a blessing or a curse." Jane worried her bottom lip.  
"Oh!" she began excitedly. "Maybe... maybe he figured that he did something wrong, and he's waiting for you to talk about it with him?" Her excitement fell as her gaze wandered between Jake and Roxy. The likelihood of what she was hoping was extremely un...likely. Drat. "Maybe not."  
"Nice to think about, Janey, but you know Dirk." Roxy's tone was more grim than Jane liked. She nodded.  
"I do know Dirk." She made a flustered noise. "It really rustles my jimmies that he's doing this! It's not fair to anyone that he's being such a sillyninny about it."  
"We have to give the boy some credit, eh Jane?" Jake tried. "I did sort-of rattle his cage a bit."  
"Oh no, don't you defend him," Roxy warned. "This is fucking unacceptable. I can't believe he's pulling this shit. Passive-aggressive childish bullshit."  
"If only it were passive." Jane was sure she was the only one that heard Jake murmur that. She swallowed nervously.  
"Well... are you going to go now?" She wrung her hands again. "Do you think it's wise?"  
"Better sooner than later, I think. Don't let him get too many ideas. I'mma tromp upstairs and put some fuckin' clothes on. Jake, I'd tell you to do the same but unless you wanna go out in a frilly pink skirt, I think you're stuck like that."  
While Roxy went upstairs to change, Jane gave Jake a nervous hug.  
"It'll be alright," she promised quietly. She hoped she wasn't lying.

\------

  
The unmistakeable scent of some form of alcohol floated around the blonde as she accompanied Jake on the trek to Dirk's; Jake's mind an angry, tired slush of thoughts. Surely, it wouldn't be that bad with Roxy there...? He desperately hoped that Strider wasn't prone to any more acts of violence. Not that he had been all that violent to begin with, it was just the utter lack of gentility that unseated poor English. He couldn't blame Roxy for needing a shot or two either - he managed to quell the urge to ask her for one, himself.  
  
No one answered the door and Roxy let herself in with her key, Jake following in step behind her. The apartment was dark and quiet; sunlight filtered through the half-assed drawn shades. Hide nor hair of sir Strider was seen in the living room, and inspection of the kitchen left much of the same.  
  
"Do you think he went somewhere?" Jake's question came in a nervous whisper. Roxy shook her head.  
"Truck's out there. I know he likes to hoof it around a lot of the time but I doubt he'd just fuck off like that. He's probs got his stupid blonde head in a tizzy about you." Jake sighed, sitting in one of the kitchen chairs. He ran a hand through his hair.  
"Am I... making too big a deal of this?" He eyed Roxy tiredly. "Do you really think it's as bad as I'm making it out?" Quiet laugh. "I do tend to have a bit of an imagination." Roxy pulled up a chair next to him.  
"Don't even start with that shit, Jake. You're pulling a humble-miss-Crocker right the fuck now. 'Oooooh dearie me, something's got my frilly undergarments in quite the bunch, but I'm gonna just sit here and feel sorry for myself, hoo-boo-hoo'." She shook her head, pointing at him accusingly. "I didn't stay up til stupid-o-clock in the goddamn morning to come here with you on some spectacles rescue mission for you to pussy out. I love you, Jake, but don't do this to me. Or yourself."  
  
Before he could say a word, she had stormed upstairs; leaving Jake to sit by himself and, at least he felt, to think about what he did.  
  
\------  
"Dirk?" Roxy's voice was nearly classified as 'timid' as she reached the top of the staircase, eyes inspecting the near-darkness. It was really fucking dark in the place, and she had to revist their thought of Dirk actually not being here. Which was just as stupid a thought now as it had been before, considering that most of his stuff was still strewn about. Backpack, his favourite doofy shoes, keys - everything was thrown around like it was the den of a child. Which was unusual in and of itself. Dirk was usually neater. HE was the one always chiding HER about being untidy. What a hypocrite.  
  
She stepped into the blonde's room, frowning a little as a feeling of unease settled over her. It was a gross feeling for a multitude of reasons. A few of which were kinda bratty, and a few of which were totes legit. Most of her mind was occupied with the thought of this room being some... taboo love nest. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if the two subjects in question weren't the buck-toothed loser downstairs and the shimmering object of her affection. Gross. The lesser part of her imagination was the more compassionate part, knowing that this was where Dirk had 'been unkind' to Jake. Which rounded out to thinking of more on the whole love-nest thing and all in all it just made her shudder.  
  
Jake's glasses sat on the bedside table, Roxy quickly pocketing them as she got closer to the bed itself. They were... right next to Dirk's phone. Which was odd. She picked it up, easily bypassing the lock code on it and toying around with it. Argh -  
"Fuck you, Jake," she mumbled under her breath, spotting - and deleting - some stupid text the brunette had sent to Dirk a few goddamn minutes ago, "you stupid kid." She moved to put his phone back, but nearly dropped it a second later.

  
"He's alright."  
  
Roxy jumped a goddamn foot.


End file.
